Wrench.



G. A. RIENKS,

WRENCH. APPLIGATION FILED DEC. 18, 1912.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Widineooao W W G. A. RIENKS.

WRENCH. APPLIOATION FILED D2018, 1912.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

6. A: RlENKS I COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH IO-.WASHINUTOM n. c.

- and easily adjusted.

GUSTAAF ADQLF JaIENKS, or FIt-EEPGRT; ILLINors.

WRENCH.

To all whom 2'15 may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAAF A. Rmmrs, a citizen of the Netherlands, residing at Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invent-ion relates to new and useful improvements in wrenches, and an object thereof is the provision of a device of this character in which the jaws may be quickly Another object of this invention is the provision of a wrench of this character,

comprising a stationary jaw having a hollow handle. and a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in. the handle, the shank being provided with transversely extending teeth on its inner end, and the han dle being provided with a pivoted locking member, the locking member being also provided with teeth adapted to engage the teeth of the shank to hold the wrench in adjusted position.

A. still further object of this invention is the provision of a wrench of this character, in which the pivoted locking member is formed with resilient walls adapted to engage the beveled faces of the shank. whereby the locking member will beheld in engagement with said shank to prevent accidental movement of the aws.

With these and other objects in view, mv invention resides in the novel constructions, combinations and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described,clain1ed and illustrated in the accompanying draw- .ing, in which,

'Figure'l is a side elevation of my device showing the locking member section and in raised position. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2, of Fig. 5. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the locking member in partly raised position. Fig. 4 is an outer edge view of the movable jaw and the shank. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of my device partly in section, and showing the locking member in closed position. Fig. 6'is a section taken on line 6-6, of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line-77, of Fig. 5, and Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a slightly modified form of my device.

Referring more particularly to the draw- Specification of'Letters Patent.

Application filed December 18, 1912.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

Serial No. 737,511.

ing, the numeral 1 designates the stationary aw having the hollow handle 2 and the learwardly projecting extension 3. The movable jaw 4 is provided with a rearwardly extending shank 5 which is slidably disposed in the hollow handle 2, and the outer face of the rear end of said shank is formed with relatively transversely extendmg teeth 6. It will be understood that the opening in the'handle 2 is angular and the shank 5 is rectangular in form, so that the shank will be prevented from turning in the opening and the jaws will be held in their relative positions. A locking member 7 is pivotally connected, as at 8, to the outer face of the rear end of the sleeve of the handle 2, the look ing member being provided with spaced side walls 9 and the under face of said member being formed with a plurality of transversely extending teeth 10 which are adapted to engage the teeth 6 of the shank when the locking member is in closed position.

It will be seen from the drawing that the extension 8 of the handle is of slightly greater width than the body portion thereof and projects slightly beyond the side faces of said handle. These projecting portion of the extension are provided with longitudinally extending grooves or channels 11, the outer walls of which are inwardly b'eveled,as at 12, and are adapted to frictionally engage the lower out turned ends 13 of the walls 9 of the locking member to frictionally hold the locking member in closed position. A further locking means is provided to lock the member? in closed position, comprising an angular spring clip 1i having an ear 15 secured to the rear end of the locking member, the car being adapted to engage a lug 16 mounted in the rear end of the extension 3 of'the handle. H In Fig. 8 ofthe drawing, I have illustrated a modified form of locking member and shank, the locking member being adapted tofrictionally engage the shank and the extension of the'handle to hold the jaws in adjusted position. In this construction, the side walls 17 of the locking member 7 are reduced in thickness and normally converge. These walls are tempered so that they will spring or flex, and at their longitudinal edges, they are slightly curved outwardly, as at 18. The shank 19 of the movable jaw has its teeth 20 beveled or inclined in opposite directions at their ends, as indicated at 21. The upper face of the extension 22 of the handle, is provided with the longitudinally extending grooves or channels 23, the outer walls of the channels being inwardly beveled or inclined, as at 24. V

In the above construction, it will be apparent that when the handle member 7 is moved inwardly upon the wrench shank after the adjustment of the movable jaw, the out turned ends 18 of the side walls 17 of the locking member engaging the beveled ends 21 of the teeth 20 on the shank will cause said walls to spring outwardly in opposite directions so that they will ride inwardly upon the beveled faces of the wrench shank 19. The curved or outwardly bent edges 18 of the walls 17 engaging the inclined walls 2st of the grooves 23 in the extension will tend to force the curved ends inwardly, thereby creating sufficient friction to retain the walls 17 in close contact with the beveled walls of the shank and prevent accidental disengagement of the locking member from the shank. It is apparent in this construction that'no separate locking means is necessary to hold the locking memher in engagement with the shank, the flexibility of the walls of the locking member and their engagement with the beveled faces of the shank and the grooves in the extension of the handle serving to hold the jaws in locked position and preventing the disengagement of the locking member from the shank. It will be seen that when it is desired to adjust the jaws of the wrench, the movable member 7 may be moved outwardly and the movable aw adjusted to any desired position, whereupon the locking member 7 may be forced into engagement with the shank and the extension and the device is again ready for use.

From the above description taken in con nection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that I have provided a wrench which comprises a minimum number of parts and which, therefore, may be cheaply manufactured, the wrench being capable of rapid adjustment, and being one which will fulfil all requirements of such a device.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw having a hollow handle, said handle being formed with an extension having longitudinal grooves formed therein adjacent its opposite edges, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, said shank being provided with teeth, a locking mem ber pivotally connected to said handle, said. locking member having spaced side walls adapted to engage the opposite faces of said shank, the locking member being provided with teeth to engage the teeth on said shank,

the free edges of said side walls being adapted for frictional engagement in said grooves, as and for the purpose described.

2. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw having a hollow handle, said handle being formed with an extension having longitudinal grooves formed therein adjacent its opposite edges, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, said shank being provided with teeth, a locking member pivotally connected to said handle, said locking member being formed with spaced side walls adapted to engage the opposite faces of said shank, the locking member being provided with teeth to engage the teeth on said shank, the outer walls of said grooves being beveled inwardly, and the free edges of the walls of the locking member being adapted to frictionally engage the beveled walls of said grooves, as and for the purpose described.

3. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw having a hollow handle, said handle being formed with an extension having grooves formed therein adjacent its opposite edges, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, said shank being provided with teeth, a locking member pivotally connected to said handle, said locking member being formed with spaced side walls for engagement with the opposite faces of said shank, the locking member being provided with teeth to engage the teeth on said shank, and the free edges of the walls of said locking member being turned outwardly for frictional engagement with the outer walls of said grooves, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A wrench of the character described, comprising a jaw having a hollow handle, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, the side faces of said shank being beveled inwardly, said shank being provided on its outer face with a plurality of transversely extending teeth, the opposite ends of said teeth being beveled outwardly, a locking member pivot-ally secured to said handle, said locking member being provided with inwardly converging resilient walls, the locking member being also provided on its inner face with transversely extending teeth adapted to engage the teeth on the shank, and the walls of said locking member being adapted to frictionally engage the beveled faces of said shank, as and for the purpose described.

5. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw having a hollow handle, said handle being formed with an extension having grooves formed therein adjacent its opposite edges, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, a locking member pivotally connected to said handle, said member being formed with spaced side walls for en gagement with the opposite faces of said shank, the locking member being provided with teeth to engage the teeth on said shank, the outer walls of said grooves being beveled inwardly, and the free edges of the walls of said locking member being turned outwardly for frictional engagement with the beveled walls of said grooves, as and for the purpose described. l

6. A wrench of the character described comprising a jaw having a hollow handle, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, said shank being provided with teeth, the side faces of said shank being beveled inwardly, a locking member pivotally secured to said handle, the locking member being provided with teeth adapted to engage the teeth on said shank, said locking member being provided with inwardly converging resilient walls, the walls of said locking member being adapted to frietionally engage the beveled faces of said shank, as and for the purpose described.

7. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw having a hollow handle, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, the side faces of said shank being beveled inwardly, said shank being provided with a plurality of teeth, a locking member pivotally secured to said handle, said locking member being provided with inwardly converging resilient walls, the locking member being also provided on its inner face with teeth adapted to engage the teeth on the shank, and the walls of said locking member being adapted to frictionally engage the beveled faces of said shank, as and for the purpose described.

8. A wrench comprising a stationary jaw having a hollow handle, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, the side faces of said shank being beveled inwardly, said shank being provided said locking member being provided with inwardly converging resilient walls, the free longitudinal edges of said walls being curved outwardly, the locking member being also provided on its inner face with transversely extending teeth adapted to engage the teeth on the shank, and the walls in of said locking member being adapted to frictionally engage the beveled faces of said shank, as and for the purpose described.

9. A wrench of the character described, comprising a jaw having a hollow handle, said handle being formed with an extension having grooves formed therein adjacent its opposite edges, a movable jaw having a shank slidably disposed in said handle, the side faces of said shank being beveled inwardly, said shank being provided on its outer face with a plurality of teeth, a locking member pivotally secured to said handle, said locking member being provided with inwardly converging resilient walls, the locking member being also provided on its inner face with teeth adapted to engage the teeth on said shank, the walls of said locking member being adapted to frictionally engage the beveled faces of said shank, and the free edges of said walls being turned outwardly for frictional engagement with the outer walls of said grooves, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GUSTAAF ADOLF RIENKS.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. GREEN, E. M. MENLORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

